Cable-railway crossing



(No Model.)

G. PROVOST.

CABLE RAILWAY CROSSING.

Patented Mar. 19

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAVE PROVOST, OF SANFRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CABLE-RAILWAY CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,929, dated March 19, 1889. Application filed July 9, 1888. Serial No. 2'79A64. (N0 model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it kn own that I, GUSTAVE PROVOST, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cable-Crossings for Railways; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact description of my invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to construct and use the same.

My invention relates to cablerailway crossings and a means by which the grip of cable cars of a given line may ride over and across other lines cables without danger of injuring them; and it consists of a series of depressing levers operated automatically by the grip of the crossing car. By a modification of the system one lever alone can accomplish this object, as will be demonstrated hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings will serve to illustrate my device.

Figure l is a plan of a cable-railway crossing with my device in position. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section at line a; 90, Fig. 1, showing the underground conduits of the tractioncables and the depressing-levers which control them. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal upright section at line 3 y, Fig. 1, representing one of the projecting arms and the shafts which operate the depressing-levers. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a single cable-depressin g lever.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

A A are tracks; B B, slots through which the grip of the cable-oars slides, and O O traction-cables.

Small shafts D D, provided with projecting arms a b, and turning in bearings, are vertically put up a little aside of the under traction-cable in such a manner that when the arm a is at a right angle with the grip-slot B the other arm, 1), is parallel thereto, and vice versa. Longer shafts, E E, j ournaled in bearing-blocks, are laid horizontally on each side below the traction-cable and parallel thereto.

E is connected to D and D by means of bevel-gears c 0, while E E are connected to each other by sprocket-wheels cl (1 and an endless rope or chain, 6. Only those parts of the rope .or chain which ride over the sprockets need be provided with links, so as to prevent A suitable number of levers, F F,

slipping.

able, and attached to either side of the shafts E E, to regulate the pressure of the levers.

As a modification of my invention, whereby most of the above-described mechanism may be dispensed with, I propose to construct these same depressing-levers F and apply them after the manner indicated in Fig. 4.

One of these levers alone will be sufficient to attain the end sought, and they may be applied to either or to both, but preferably to the upper traction-cables. Such a lever could be made in the shape represented in Fig. but I would rather have it composed (Fig. 4) of two light standards joined together by means of bolts and clutching the tractioncables with their claws i. Anti-friction rollersf, with concave surfaces and revolving between these standards, insure the easy running of the cable. Other anti-friction rollers, j, are inserted between the standards at their top curvature and form a bridge spanning the cable, over which the grip of a cross ing car may ride with perfect immunity to itself and to the cable it crosses. The lever is jointed to and rests on two double props, Z, pivoted to a stand, on.

The operation of my device is as follows: A car on line A and approaching track A, Fig. 1, strikes by means of its grip and swings about a quarter of the way around the projecting arm a and the shaftD that upholds it. The latter communicates the movement, through (Fig. 3,) the bevel gears c c, the sprocket-Wheels cl d, and the endless chain 6, (better shown in Fig. 2,) to the shafts E E and to the shaft D. The levers F, balanced, if need be, by the counterpoise h, are brought to bear down upon the crossing cables, lowering them so as to be out of possible contact with the car-grip, while the arm bof shaft D, being brought across the path of the grip, is now in a measure to reciprocate the motion;

for as soon as the grip has passed over the crossing cable or cables it encounters this arm I), swings it back to its original position, thus reversing the mechanism, releasing the hold of the levers, and bringing arm a toits former place.

It is manifest that shaft E with its depressing-levers and the sprocket-wheels d d, together with the chain 6, could be dispensed with without altering the principle of my invention; but I consider it best to use them, because affording the means of depressing the cables at several points at once, and thus dividing the strain consequent upon the depression. The single lever F, illustrated in Fig. 4, will be found to operate just as well. The grip of a car moving in the direction indicated by the arrow in that figure will glide over the crossing cable 0, which runs through the clutchesof the lever, without injury to either cable or lever. The lever itself is protected by the anti-friction rollers j j, and easily yields, on account of its movable props, to the pressure of the grip while the latter passes over it. As soon as the grip has crossed it, it is brought back to its originalposition by the natural tension of the traction-cable C, its light weight offering no resistance. As to the cable, all contact between it and the crossing grip is surely guarded against by the depressing-lever, and it naturally follows the downward movement imparted by the grip to said lever, which controls it. The anti-friction rollers f f prevent any chafing of the cable that might otherwise occur.

Without limiting myself to the precise mode of construction and particular arrangement of the several parts just described,whatl claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. In a crossing for cable railways, the com-- bination of the shafts D D, upholding'reciprocating arms a b, which are setin such away that while one of said arms lies across the path of the actuating car-grip the other is parallel thereto, the bevel-gears c c, the shafts E E, the sprocketwheels (Z d, the endless chain c, the depressing-levers F, and the adjustable counterpoise 71, substantially as described.

2. The depressing-levers F, provided with anti-friction rollers f with concave surfaces, set in an independent frame, g, jointed to the end of said levers and clutching the cables C, substantially as shown, for the purpose specified. V

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GUSTAVE PROVOST.

Witnesses:

J. F. KINGWELL, CHAS. S. J ONES. 

